


The Birdsitters

by cjr09



Series: A Collection of Eldemore Drabbles [1]
Category: Eldemore
Genre: Basically all of the Ancients and the Sealer, my excuse to write self-indulgent Ancient fluff tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-01
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-26 16:03:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3856654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjr09/pseuds/cjr09
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Sealer comes home with a crow egg in tow, it's nothing unusual, considering their history. </p><p>When it becomes apparent that they made a blood bond with it, that's less usual.</p><p>(Immediately follows the events of For The Birds, but can be read separately.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Birdsitters

When you get home, the Ancients corner you immediately and demand to know what happened in Alabaster as though they weren't keeping a close eye on you the entire time.

So you retell the entire story- from Muzu leading you in circles to meeting Sorren, collecting feathers and turning them in for pets- most of them snicker at this part, they know how you are- being named the Sealer and flying around the city, your trip over the walls and what you've learned about Oblivion's curse- not much, unsurprisingly- and finally, joining the Watch Crows and your blood pact with your new egg.

You end the story there and wait for their reactions.

Unsurprisingly, it's Snafu who speaks first.

"Wow, a blood bond huh? Didn't know you had it in you," he snickers, and immediately stops as both Verdandi and Faldinreach punch him on a shoulder.

"This isn't a joke, Snafu. Blood bonds can be very dangerous," protests the Grave Keeper, who is already peering into you with their sharp, glowing orange eyes, trying to see into your soul. Well, the part of your soul you still had, at least.

"Historically, the Watch Crows have made blood pacts with their crows without suffering many ill effects-" Nawatt begins, before being rudely cut off by a groaned, "Shut _up,_ Nawatt," from Verdandi and Faldinreach.

"It's still dangerous, and they never should have accepted," Verdandi argues, standing from her chair in a huff, ignoring Nawatt's indignant glare.

"...The Sealer should be fine so long as they don't do it again," Nawatt mutters and is ignored by mostly everyone. The Elderwind pats his back in condolence.

"I think it's rather wonderful the Sealer has such a close companion now," The Yin Ancient says, and the Elderwind makes a noise of agreement, "What's done is done, and like Nawatt said, it won't have any ill effects."

You can always count on those two to back you up and you smile at them gratefully.

Mahamayah nods in agreement, "They've been in worse situations, anyway." This causes a general chorus of agreement to run through them, and you frown deeply at them.

Verdandi makes a displeased noise in the back of her throat and Snafu snickers. "I'm kind of proud, actually. My little baby, all grown up and making illegal blood pacts," he laughs, holding his sides in the apparent hilarity of your actions.

Well. See if he gets a souvenir.

"Well, I did it, and I joined the Watch Crows. This little egg is a part of my soul now, so don't go pushing them around!" You do your best to level a glare at your Ancients- it's horribly ineffective, and you think they quiet down out of pity for you more than anything.

"I'm gonna go make sure everyone's settled in, and I'm leaving my egg here. _Play nice,"_ you stress, and leave in a huff.

The Ancients are silent for once, and watch you go.

"Well, looks like we're birdsitters now as well as babysitters," the Elderwind pipes up, but looks at the small egg with curiosity and inherent fondness for the creature who flies through his skies.

Snafu makes a noise of agreement and gently prods the shell, shaking it slightly, and the Yin Ancient makes a noise of protest, batting his hands away.

"...So who wants to tell the Leviathan?" Faldinreach asks, elbowing their way into the slowly tightening ring around the soul-crow egg.

There's an immediate chorus of "Not it!" and one lone "Not... dang it," from Mahamayah.

"I guess we should be ready from a visit from Shadows? Dang, I haven't seen her for... how many years? A couple centuries, maybe," mutters the Elderwind, gently picking up the egg and cradling it in their hands, trying to feel the tiny heartbeat through the suddenly very thin shell.

"Ugh, if she comes in here and starts calling the Sealer one of her "children of the night" because of this I'm actually going to hurl," Snafu groans, leaning back over his chair dramatically, balancing on two legs. The Grave Keeper shoves him over and he hits the ground with a crash and a startled yelp.

"Let's not fight," the Yin Ancient says, trying to quell the inevitable fight before it starts, and Verdandi backs her up.

"Enough. We all knew that this was what Fate had in store for the Sealer when we decided to stay with them, and we won't go now," she says, the ever-shifting features of her face pulling into a worried frown.

"They need us now more than ever."

They stay silent.

"I guess looking after a crow won't be so bad. It'll be like looking after the Runes," the Grave Keeper says, resting their head on the table, and Snafu makes a grudging noise of agreement from the floor.

"Besides, it's pretty cute," says Mahamayah, craning their neck to see into the Elderwind's hands, and Nawatt leans into the Elderwind's other side to see for himself.

"It's still just an egg, it can't be cute. Besides, aren't baby birds rather ugly?" he asks, and Mahamayah whacks him with their tail. "It's the _principle_ of it, Nawatt! It's a baby, and all babies are cute."

"Alright, so we can all agree we're going to continue watching over the Sealer _and_ their bird?" Verdandi asks, drawing the attention back to her.

Varying noises of agreement answer her, and she nods decisively, as though she had a lot of influence in their decision and was taking pride in it.

"...Do I still have to be the one to tell the Leviathan?"


End file.
